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Even after two decades writing about the personal finance aspects of housing, Elizabeth Razzi finds there’s always more to talk about. Buying and selling, improving, insuring, squabbling with the homeowners association -- whatever the housing topic, let this be your virtual back fence.

Local Address Archive: Mortgages

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.57 percent this week, Freddie Mac reported this morning. That's down just a hundredth of a percentage point from last week's rate, but it marks the third consecutive week of record-setting lows for the most popular type of home loan. Freddie Mac has been tracking this rate for 39 years.

Since they don't know what did cause the bubble, but they are convinced that low interest rates and loose lending don't bear much of the blame, they conclude that there's little reason to worry about rising mortgage interest rates. And they feel more secure suggesting that government policy makers back away from popular programs aimed at reducing the cost of homeownership.

Mortgage interest rates shot up this week to the highest level since August, Freddie Mac economists report today. Perversely, rising interest rates tend to boost home sales--at least in the short term. Buyers who had been sitting on the fence often get jolted into action when they see rising rates eat into their new-home budget. Combine that with a major nationwide marketing push by Realtors to hold open houses on as many of their listings as possible over the April 10-11 weekend, and the market could get pretty interesting over the next week or so.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching a national study of discrimination in the sale or rental of housing to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. "Our goal is to provide information -- to allow the dialogue to focus on facts rather than preconceived notions," said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic, who is heading the study.

If you're in the market for a mortgage, congratulations. Your timing is great. If you're feeling nudged to act solely by "record" low rates, turn on the Olympics and watch some genuine records being set.